Chapter 80 Fame Throughout the City
The dishes served were very plentiful, prepared by the head chef of Zuixianlou Restaurant, specially invited by the Fang family.
Sheng An was very interested in the chef's skills at Zuixianlou Restaurant, and picked up a crab meat lion's head with his chopsticks.
Crab meat lion's head is a famous dish in Qingzhou City, made by cooking a mixture of crab meat and pork. It is round and resembles a lion's head.
Sheng An took a small bite, carefully savoring the texture and flavor of the crab meat lion's head.
The meat is tender and fatty but not greasy, with a fresh and delicious flavor and a bouncy texture. The only drawback is that it has a slight meaty smell and you can see some residual blood foam.
If the maximum score is 100, Sheng An thinks it would be 85.
As she silently gave the score, Ms. Li's praise came from across the table: "As expected of a descendant of imperial chefs, this crab meat lion's head meatball is really delicious!"
Immediately, someone put down their chopsticks and chimed in: "It's because of that head chef that Zuixianlou is so popular. Sometimes you have to wait quite a while if you go late."
"The food at Zuixianlou is not cheap. My monthly salary of ten taels of silver is just enough to order a few of their signature dishes."
"Yes, I heard that hiring a chef to cook at home costs no less than thirty taels of silver per table."
"This price isn't high; most families with some status can afford it."
"The head chef only prepares two or three main dishes; the other ordinary dishes are all made by the kitchen helpers."
"When you do the math, thirty taels of silver is indeed not cheap."
Sheng An heard clearly what Miss Li and the others were saying.
Looking at the half-eaten crab meat lion's head meatball left in the bowl, she suddenly felt that she had been too kind. Compared with the chef of Zuixianlou, the cost of booking a banquet at her home was nothing.
We really should let the three elders in the family come and see what a truly unscrupulous businessman is like!
Sheng An finished the crab meat lion's head meatballs with a heart full of jealousy, and then reached for the other plates with her chopsticks, mainly those main dishes.
Whether it was a change in her mindset or some other reason, she felt that the taste of these main dishes was just average, barely deserving a score of 70.
Seeing that Miss Li and the others were enjoying their meal, Sheng An felt even more confident about Sheng Garden.
Just then, a small gasp came from the other side.
She subconsciously looked up and saw Ms. Li across from her staring incredulously at the roasted chicken pieces in her bowl, as if she had discovered something extraordinary.
Seeing this, the others put down their chopsticks and asked, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with this roast chicken?"
Ms. Li hurriedly shook her head, put down her chopsticks, swallowed the food in her mouth, and gestured for them to taste the roast chicken with shining eyes: "It tastes exceptionally good, better than any roast chicken or duck I've ever eaten. It's simply not humanly made!"
Sheng An: "..."
Excuse me, what makes her seem inhuman?
Listening to Miss Li's exaggerated description, the other young ladies were skeptical: "Is it really that delicious? I've had the roast chicken at Zuixianlou, and it tastes pretty good, but it's not as amazing as you're making it out to be."
Seeing that her friends didn't believe her, Ms. Li was about to explain when she suddenly rolled her eyes, picked up her chopsticks again, and quickly put some into her own bowl: "So you don't like it? Then I'll eat a couple more pieces."
At that moment, Ms. Li was completely captivated by the deliciousness of the roast chicken and unknowingly made such an unbecoming move.
The other young ladies were dumbfounded, clearly not expecting their friend to do such a thing.
Sheng An quickly grabbed the serving chopsticks and placed a piece of chicken leg meat into Tan Qingrou's bowl: "Try it."
Tan Qingrou looked away and focused her attention on the chicken leg meat in the bowl.
Suddenly, she smelled a fragrance that was indescribable.
The enticing aroma that whetted her appetite was coming from the roasted chicken leg.
Tan Qingrou subconsciously picked up a chicken leg and took a bite. In an instant, her eyes widened in surprise, revealing the same expression as Miss Li.
This is so delicious!
Sheng An didn't miss the shock in the little girl's eyes. Before the others could react, he immediately put two more pieces of roasted chicken into her bowl: "You're still growing, you need to eat more meat."
This child doesn't like meat. His size is normal, but his bones are too thin, as if they would break if you bent them.
The exposed hands and neck showed very little flesh.
If this continues, she will definitely become malnourished, and might even end up like her, with irregular periods.
Tan Qingrou tasted the roasted chicken and discovered for the first time that meat could be so delicious, completely devoid of that nauseating fishy smell.
Seeing that Tan Qingrou was enjoying her meal, the other young ladies finally realized what was happening and picked up their chopsticks to grab the few remaining pieces of roasted chicken, tasting them with skepticism.
This taste seemed to open a new door to the culinary world for them.
Not only this table, but the other tables of guests in the room also praised the roast chicken, saying that the chef of Zuixianlou had improved his culinary skills again.
"Sister, this roast chicken is delicious, here's a piece for you."
Seeing that the roast chicken on the plate had been eaten clean, but Sheng An's bowl was empty, Tan Qingrou immediately picked up the chicken from her own bowl.
"No need, no need, I can cook it myself if I want to eat it."
Sheng An quickly stopped the little girl, and couldn't help but pinch her cheek: "The roast chicken on the table today was roasted by me. If you like it, have your brother come to my house to pick it up tomorrow."
Tan Qingrou opened her mouth in surprise, looked at Sheng An, and then at the roast chicken: "This...this was roasted by my sister?"
Sheng An nodded with a smile, while wondering to herself, "Last time your brother came to my house for dinner, I let him bring one home. Didn't you eat it?"
Tan Qingrou looked bewildered, then a wronged expression appeared on her face: "Brother, brother went too far..."
That evening at dinner, she saw a roast chicken on the table, and it smelled especially delicious.
She wasn't interested in meat, so she glanced at it but didn't touch it.
Her brother asked her if she wanted to eat, and when she shook her head, he immediately pulled the plate in front of him and ate the whole chicken in one go.
Whenever her brother said the roast chicken was delicious, or even just gave her a piece, she would never miss out on such a delicacy.
The worst part is that her brother would actually use underhanded tactics on her just to get a bite to eat.
Seeing the little girl looking so wronged, Sheng An was both amused and exasperated and quickly comforted her, "I'll bake one for you tomorrow, a whole one for you to eat by yourself."
Tan Qingrou nodded vigorously: "Okay!"
She paused for a moment, then shook her head: "Leave the chicken feet and chicken head for my brother."
Sheng An almost burst out laughing, and couldn't help but pat the little girl's head again: "Okay, you decide what your roast chicken is."
The others were focused on eating chicken and didn't notice the conversation between the two, so they didn't know that the roast chicken was made by Sheng An.
Sheng An wouldn't deliberately promote it at this time. When these people go to Zuixianlou to eat roast chicken and find that the taste is completely different from what they have eaten, they will naturally inquire about the origin of the roast chicken.
By then, Shengyuan Roasted Chicken will surely become famous.
After the banquet, Sheng An and Xu Jinnian left the Fang family and took an oxcart to Rongchun Hall.
They didn't walk down the alley leading to the courtyard and didn't run into any of their neighbors.
The old doctor at Rongchuntang recognized the two of them. As soon as Sheng An entered the room, his gaze fell on her face, and his old eyes revealed a look of surprise: "It's been a while since I last saw you, and your body has recovered quite a bit."
After saying that, he took out a pulse pillow: "Come here, let me take a look at you."
Sheng An sat down as instructed, placing his wrist on the pulse pillow, secretly marveling at the old doctor's keen eye.
The old doctor was truly skilled in the four diagnostic methods of observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation.
The old doctor closed his eyes to take Sheng An's pulse, and after a moment he gestured for Sheng An to switch hands.
After he had used both hands to explore, his brows furrowed, forming two deep furrows.
Sheng An felt uneasy, wondering if she had an incurable disease, and nervously looked at Xu Jinnian.
Xu Jinnian gently squeezed her hand: "Don't be afraid, it's okay."
Sheng An felt a little relieved and couldn't help but look at the old doctor: "Is it good or bad? Please give me a definite answer."
The old doctor seemed to find her noisy, and glared at her with his dim old eyes: "What's the rush?"
Sheng An remained silent.
The old doctor ignored her, muttering to himself, "Impossible, this can't be..."
After pacing back and forth several times, he still couldn't resolve his confusion. Finally, he sat down and asked Sheng An, "You didn't take any medicine, yet your body recovered most of its deficiencies in just three months. What method did you use?"
Sheng An was startled.
The old doctor could even tell whether she had taken her medicine or not. Could he have also figured out that she had excessive internal heat and was sexually dissatisfied every day?
Sheng An felt extremely guilty and replied without much confidence, "I eat, drink, and sleep every day. I probably eat a lot of meat and sleep well with a clear mind, so the damaged qi and blood are slowly returning."
The old doctor glanced at her, not exposing her little scheme, but his brows furrowed even deeper: "These two points alone are not enough to replenish your qi and blood in such a short time."
Even with medication, the effects won't be this quick.
Every medicine has its side effects; if there were better methods, more people could benefit.
Sheng An naturally couldn't tell the truth, and his face showed the same puzzled and somewhat bewildered expression: "Hearing you say that, I'm also very curious. Perhaps my constitution is different from ordinary people?"
The old doctor glared at her and waved her away, saying, "If you're not sick or injured, don't talk nonsense here!"
Sheng An chuckled and immediately pulled Xu Jinnian over: "Why don't you take a look at him, old man?"
The old doctor actually glanced at Xu Jinnian, and waved his hand impatiently: "He's strong enough to kill an ox, what's so interesting about him! Come on, come on, this isn't a place for you two to amuse yourselves."
Sheng An was extremely helpless and had no choice but to pull Xu Jinnian outside.
After walking a few steps, the old doctor's faint voice came from behind: "It is better to guide than to block. The harmony of yin and yang is the natural order. Little Xu, do not harm yourself or your body."
Sheng An stumbled and almost dragged Xu Jinnian to the ground.
Fortunately, Xu Jinnian managed to calm her down in time, preventing her from embarrassing herself in public.
Sheng An's blood rushed to his head, and he wanted to run away from this deadly place, but then he remembered another important matter. He quickly released Xu Jinnian and rushed to the old doctor in three strides:
"Do you have any methods to temporarily render someone infertile without harming their body?"
Having already lost face once, it doesn't matter if I lose face again.
Anyway, once she walks out of that door, who knows what she asked?
The old doctor's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, and he glared at Sheng An with annoyance: "No!"
If he had such a thing, his wife wouldn't have secretly drunk that potent drug and died from postpartum hemorrhage.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com